Before the Romans

Stonehenge

On our way to Bath, we stopped at Stonehenge. Depending on which historians and scientists you agree with, it was built either four to five thousand years ago and could be an observatory or altar. It is an impressive sight to behold. Although Roman coins were found on the site, there is no other evidence of Roman occupation at the site (unless you count this guy). Surely the Romans who viewed it were disgusted by its rawness, its incompleteness. These folks were about order! How could they know that the site was three millennia older than their entire Empire’s existence?

When we arrived, the sun was shining, but that changed rather dramatically. In the period we were there, we went from sun, to clouds, to windy, swirly skies, to darkness - followed by a cold rain. England in the summer time, our guide cheerfully told us.

Owen and I battling the wind.

Here come the clouds...

...and darkness fell.

The rain lasted all but five minutes, but it slowed everything down at the site. Walkways became muddy paths, once-polite tourists were elbowing one-another for a space on the dry shuttle bus, and folks without raincoats or ponchos were dripping wet (the wind made short work of anyone with an umbrella).  But I digress...

The Romans were just another group who shared Britain  - there were dozens of indigenous tribes and pre-dating them, groups that arrived during the Paleolithic Era. No one knows for sure why Stonehenge was built - it seems obvious that celestial and solar observation figure into it somehow, but other archaeologists wonder if it was more monumentary, a tribute to the people who built it, or as a temple and place of ancestor worship (several dozen burial pits pepper the site). Our guide thinks it is simply because it had never been done before, a kind of Neolithic Moonshot! Historians are still trying to figure it all out...

Sulis Minerva - part Celt, part Roman, all powerful.

The Romans have this funny way of taking local deities,“re-branding” them, and selling them back to the locals as a value-added item. This is my big take-away from Bath, or Aquae Sulis. The thermal springs of the area (and only hot springs in all of Britain) were already protected by Sulis, the Celtic goddess. When the Romans arrived, they noted the similarities between Sulis and their goodness, Minerva (in turn adapted from the Greek’s Athena). In particular, both goddesses were recognized for their wisdom and decision making powers.

The Romans went on to develop a spa and temple complex at Aquae Sulis and invited the locals to worship Sulis Minerva and join their ranks. This seems at odds with the usual tale of Roman conquest by force! Part of my FFT fellowship was to explore the idea of cultural assimilation - how the Romans “Romanized” Britain. Yet, here is a place where it seems the Romans were “Celticized.”  Most referred to the goddess as Sulis and the custom of curse tablets - writing down a vengeful smite against someone who stole something or crossed you and then throwing them into the baths - were addressed to Sulis, not Minerva. It is an interesting back and forth, give and take relationship.

Lead curse tablet - this one names names of people who might be complicit in the theft
of a slave and asks for the goddess Sulis’ divine intention and retribution. 

The Roman Baths were fascinating and well maintained, but like so many other museums we have visited, packed to the gills. Timed admission helps a bit, but it was still difficult to see and read everything. I think the one thing that surprised me the most was that these places were built to last. Here we are, 2,000 years on and the ruins remain. Can we expect our shopping malls to last as long as the Roman Forum? Will our arenas last as long as the Colosseum? You can still see the bricks, the pipes and foundations for the bath complex - fascinating how so much of it looks familiar to our own plumbing! Of course, we aren’t using lead anymore...

Reflection of Bath Abbey in the Roman Baths

Another shot with Emperor Hadrian

Roman re-enactors at the baths.

Aside from my Hadrian’s Wall hike, Bath was a close second for best site visit. I really got a clear understanding of the mash up of two cultures and how they made it work. That and Bath is just a beautiful city, full of Georgian architecture. Of course, I’m not really here to study that, but the Roman aspect was richly rewarding. That concludes my visit to Britain. I sure was able to see a lot and conduct some solid research toward my fellowship’s goals. I do think I was too ambitious in my proposal, however, and didn’t get to all of the sites I had hoped to. Time is precious and train travel (and bus travel!) takes time.  My next post I’ll try and be a bit more reflective and share with you some of my Icelandic outings! Reykjavik is next!